{
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Vegetarian, vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: a systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2016.1138447",
      "doi": "10.1080/10408398.2016.1138447",
      "canonical": "https://thebalanceofhealth.com/sources/dinu-2017-vegetarian-vegan-diets-and-multiple-health-outcomes",
      "status": "reviewed"
    },
    {
      "title": "Effects of vegetarian diets on blood lipids: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.115.002408",
      "doi": "10.1161/JAHA.115.002408",
      "canonical": "https://thebalanceofhealth.com/sources/wang-2015-vegetarian-diets-blood-lipids-meta-analysis",
      "status": "reviewed"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with lower cholesterol and around a quarter lower relative risk of ischaemic heart disease.",
  "url": "https://thebalanceofhealth.com/claims/plant-based-diets-are-linked-to-lower-heart-disease-risk",
  "publisher": "The Balance of Health",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "record": {
    "status": "reviewed",
    "id": "claim-plant-based-heart-risk",
    "slug": "plant-based-diets-are-linked-to-lower-heart-disease-risk",
    "statement": "Vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with lower cholesterol and around a quarter lower relative risk of ischaemic heart disease.",
    "shortAnswer": "People eating plant-based diets have fewer heart attacks on average. Trials show these diets lower cholesterol, which supports a causal link.",
    "pillarIds": [
      "health"
    ],
    "topicIds": [
      "cardiovascular"
    ],
    "keyStatisticId": "stat-vegetarian-ihd-risk-reduction",
    "explanation": [
      "Large cohort studies find lower rates of heart disease in vegetarians. Randomised trials show that switching to a vegetarian diet lowers LDL cholesterol, a known cause of heart disease.",
      "The relative reduction of about 25% translates into a smaller absolute reduction, because most people's baseline risk over a decade is modest."
    ],
    "rating": {
      "strength": "moderate",
      "rationale": "Consistent observational evidence supported by trials on intermediate markers, but no long-term trials of heart attacks themselves, and vegetarians differ in other healthy habits."
    },
    "sourceIds": [
      "src-dinu-2017-vegetarian-vegan-meta",
      "src-wang-2015-vegetarian-lipids"
    ],
    "limitations": [
      "Confounding by lifestyle; few studies isolate vegan diets from vegetarian."
    ],
    "methodology": [
      "Meta-analysis of cohort studies for disease outcomes; meta-analysis of randomised trials for cholesterol."
    ]
  }
}